Vets attack cattle cull

LEADING British vets have launched a stinging attack on the EUs standing veterinary committee which sanctioned the world-wide ban on British beef.

Bob Stevenson, president of the British Veterinary Association said: "We listen in disbelief to our veterinary colleagues on the SVC. They are scientists not political puppets. The SVC is the highest point of decision-making for veterinary science, not the lowest point for political protectionism."

The BVA is also outraged at the prospect of a selective cattle slaughter policy to restore public confidence in British beef.

"We are opposed totally and fundamentally to the mass slaughter of healthy animals. There is neither scientific evidence or moral justification to support such a move," Mr Stevenson declared.

He continued: "If someone robs a bank you dont arrest 15 people on the off chance one of them might have been the perpetrator." BSE was declining fast but the needless destruction of animals would play little part in accelerating this decline."